GlobalFEST: The New Golden Age of Latin Music

Description

Music knows no boundaries, and so it is no surprise that the Mexican-American communities of Arizona and California are hotbeds of musical creativity, merging styles that reflect the changing borders and shared cultural identities. Orkesta Mendoza and Las Cafeteras are two of today’s hottest bands on this scene, taking the fabled Latin sound in inspiring new directions, and they are heading our way for one night only in February.

Classy and enormous fun, the infectious indie-mambo band Orkesta Mendoza updates the Latin big band tradition, merging a multitude of Latin styles like cumbia, merengue, and ranchera with electronica, strings, and unexpected bursts of western pop.

Las Cafeteras recreate traditional Afro-Caribbean Son Jarocho music in a wildly vibrant style, with traditional instruments like the jarana, requinto, quijada (donkey jawbone) and tarima (a wooden platform); they mix Afro-Mexican beats, rhythms, and rhymes to deliver inspiring lyrics that document stories of a community seeking love and justice in the concrete jungle of East L.A.